Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the summary by the Health Creation Alliance Building Back Together: 10 key messages, published on 13 April.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We welcome the key messages set out by the Health Creation Alliance and their view that 'health creation' is a route to wellbeing through local partnership working. At the core of the 10 key messages are principles of community level engagement with health and social care, ensuring a voice and a role for the community for the benefit of wider population health. These principles align closely with the proposals for integrated care systems (ICS) we have set out in the upcoming Health and Care Bill.
By placing ICS on a statutory footing, we are embedding more power and autonomy in the hands of local systems, to deliver seamless person-centred health and social care services. This will enable more joined up planning and provision, both within the National Health Service and with local authorities, enhancing the services people receive.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the statistics on the number of patients who have had to wait in excess of 12 hours for admission to the hospital from the time of their arrival in accident and emergency departments in England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering a 12 hour measure in emergency departments as part of its clinically-led review of standards. It has undertaken a public consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to accelerate (1) the progress, and (2) the dissemination of the findings, of research into the (a) prevention, and (b) treatment, of brain tumours.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In 2018 we announced £40 million over five years to accelerate progress in brain tumour research. This was highlighted within the research community with workshops to support high quality brain tumour research applications.
The findings of brain tumour research will be disseminated via the planned network of Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence, presentations at conferences, publications in journals and through the National Institute for Health Research and its Centre for Engagement and Dissemination.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress being made on the (1) prevention, and (2) treatment, of brain tumours.
Answered by Lord Bethell
A 2018 review of evidence suggested about 2.5% of brain and central nervous system cancers are attributable to modifiable causes. This equates to approximately 119 cancers that year. The majority of these are attributed to excess weight.
Public Health England supports local authorities and the National Health Service to commission weight management services that are based on and align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for weight management. These types of activities may help prevent brain tumours attributable to modifiable causes.
Treatment decisions for brain tumours should always be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs and preferences. Brain tumours can be treated using a number of treatment modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as appropriate to the tumour type, size and position. These treatments fall within the scope of NHS England direct commissioning responsibilities for specialised services.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of research being undertaken into the (1) prevention, and (2) treatment, of brain tumours.
Answered by Lord Bethell
More research is needed on brain cancer. This is a challenging area as the research community is relatively small. We announced £40 million over five years as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. The planned designation of Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence will be a major step forwards in enhancing both treatment and research for people with brain cancer.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 lockdown for people who are shielding or over the age of 70.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government will continue to ensure support is available for those who need it for as long as people are advised to follow shielding guidance. We know this is challenging guidance to follow and we want to ensure that people who are shielding continue to receive the right advice for them at a time.
From 1 June those shielding may wish to spend time outdoors once a day. This can be beneficial for mental and physical wellbeing for people of all ages, particularly those shielding alone. The advice is for people who are shielding to spend time outdoors alone or with members of their own household or, for those shielding alone, with one person from another household.
To ensure vulnerable individuals, including those shielding and the over 70s, we have put a core support offer in place to help them stay at home where they wished to follow this advice, including delivering over 2 million free food boxes, providing priority supermarket delivery services, providing care, ensuring people can get medicines delivered to their homes and enlisting the help of National Health Service volunteer responders in delivering shopping and calling people for a ‘check in and chat’.
We have also announced £5 million of funding for mental health charities to support adults and children and a further £4.2 million is being awarded to mental health charities as part of the Government’s £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector during the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking as part of the social care strategy to promote to all people over the age of 60 the NICE Guideline NG16 that sets out that it is possible to "delay or prevent ... dementia, disability and frailty in later life".
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has prioritised prevention and through the Care Act 2014 it has required local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support.
The Challenge on Dementia 2020 commitments included action on risk reduction, and messaging has been incorporated in the NHS Health Check for all eligible adults in England aged 40-74 to increase dementia awareness and motivate people in midlife to make positive changes.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether public-sector pension boards, pension companies and insurance companies are involved in the social care strategy.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government will consult with a range of sectors, including the financial services industry, when considering social care reforms.
The Government’s priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that this does not reduce the need for a long-term action plan for social care. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a society.
There are complex questions to address, which is why we have invited cross-party talks. These will take place at the earliest opportunity in light of the current circumstances. The Government will then bring forward a plan for social care for the longer term.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the West Midlands Ambulance Service are downgrading the role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons given by West Midlands Ambulance Service for downgrading the role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.